Google Is Much More Than a Search Engine

This post investigates several ways writers can take advantage of Google’s resources without having to download software or apps.

Google Keep

Google Keep allows you to keep notes, lists, photos, and audio; share them with others; and access them from your computer, phone or tablet.

The service, part of the Google Docs suite, is compatible with Android, iOS, and PC.

Need to Find a Newspaper?

Whether it’s to research a world event, find an obituary, or learn more about a community, news.google.com/newspapers might have just what you need. Some of the newspapers go back decades.

Decide What to Eat or Drink

Many writers swear by coffee to keep them alert and spur the creative process. Would tea be a better choice? Ask Google.

Search for coffee vs tea

The facts about caffeine, acidity, and premature death might surprise you.

While you’re researching coffee and tea, check on the details for your favorite snack foods:

carrots vs potato chips
apples vs doughnuts
caramel vs dark chocolate

Find Fonts for Your Book Covers

Go to fonts.google.com to find hundreds of open-source fonts. Play with the various options to find the perfect font for your next project.

Locate Free Photos

Let’s suppose you need a color photo of a tabby cat for a blog post.

• Go to images.google.com and type “tabby cat” (in quotes) in the search bar.
• Narrow the search further to select options such as kitten, male, or long hair.
• Click on the Tools button, then on the Size dropdown, and select Medium.
• Open the Color dropdown and choose Any color.
• Under Usage rights select Creative Commons licenses or Commercial & other licenses.
• In the Type dropdown select Any type or one of the other options.
• Visit the website hosting any image that interests you.
• Confirm licensing terms before downloading.

Voila. Easier than accessing multiple sites.

Set a Timer

Sitting for long periods endangers your health. In fact, recent research has identified inactivity as the new smoking. I used to set an electronic timer for twenty minutes. When it beeped, I got up and moved around for a couple of minutes before returning to my keyboard. However, I discovered recently that a Google timer can replace my timer.

I type the following into my search bar: timer 20 minutes

As soon as I activate the timer, Google begins the countdown for me, reminding me with a continuous series of beeps when my time is up.

Find Out More About an Image

Do you have an unidentified picture of an object or place you’d like to use for a story prompt? Go to images.google.com and click on the small camera icon to the right of the search bar. Enter a URL or upload an image from your hard drive. Google will give you a selection of similar graphics. By clicking on them, you acquire more information.

Discover Word Definitions

Do you want a quick definition? No need to access a dictionary site or bring up an app. Let’s say you want to find a definition for waistcoat. Go to the main Google page.

Type define waistcoat

The first search result is a definition.

Learn How to Pronounce a Word

Not sure how to pronounce waistcoat?

On the same line as the phonetic spelling you’ll find a sound file (indicated by a mini speaker icon). The audio might surprise you.

Other pronunciations that might surprise you include boatswain, coxswain, solder, blackguard, and viscount. In fact, a Google search for commonly mispronounced words provides thousands of pages that can entertain you for hours.

Trace Etymology

Once you locate a word definition, click on the down arrow to reveal a drop-down menu with translations, word origin, and more definitions. The etymology of a word is especially important if you write period fiction. A piece that is supposed to originate in the 19th century shouldn’t use a word like tailspin. Check it out.

Type etymology tailspin

You’ll see that the word didn’t come into common use until World War I.

Convert Units of Measurement

Do you normally use pounds and ounces, but need to convert for a British market that understands kilograms?

Type convert pounds to kilograms

A handy conversion tool will appear, with several other options such as temperature, length, mass, and speed.

Answer a Scientific Question

Do you need to know how far the Earth is from the sun?

Type distance from earth to sun

Perhaps you can’t remember how many legs a spider has.

Type number of legs spider

What about the number of stars in the Milky Way?

Type how many stars in the milky way

View Locations at Street Level for Descriptive Authenticity

Are you writing a story about something that happens near the Tower of London? Go to maps.google.com.

Type Tower of London.

Click on the small avatar in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen to activate Street View.

On the top left-hand corner of the screen, click on Street View & 360° for photos complete with the name of the creator and the date each was completed.

Track Plagiarism, Book Reviews, and …

Go to alerts.google.com to enter search criteria for anything you want to track. Your name? A key phrase from your last book? The name of your book? Google will e-mail you whenever new search results appear.

Ask Google to Read Text Out Loud

If you have a short story or chapter you’d like Google to read back to you, go to translate.google.com. Enter your text in the search box on the left, select the desired language in the DETECT LANGUAGE area, and press the small speaker icon.

Google will thrill your ears with an oral rendition of your writing.

Choose other languages if you’d like to hear your text spoken with an accent.

Learn More About a Famous Person

Google works well to filter search results and show you the most relevant pages. Enter a name in the search bar, and you’ll usually see a display of photos and stats on the right-hand side of the screen. Try typing your own name. If you haven’t done that before, you might be surprised at what you see.

Need a New Color Scheme for Your Website?

Search for color picker

Google presents a widget with a slider bar. Move the slider to see new colors along with their hex and RGB values. Jot down the values that appeal to you, and change your website’s colors in a separate window. Keep the Google window open in case you need to refine your changes.

Looking for GPS Coordinates?

Go to maps.google.com.

• Find your desired location on the map.
• Right-click on the pin that Google creates.
• Click on What’s Here?

Coordinates will appear at the top of the popup options list.

Planning a Giveaway and Need to Pick a Random Entrant?

Type random number generator

Enter a min/max numeric range. (If you have 49 contestants, enter a Min of 1 and a Max of 49.)

Tap GENERATE

Google will display a random number on the screen. If you have more than one item to give away, tap GENERATE as many times as necessary.

Here’s Yet Another Research Tool

Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) finds articles and case law on just about any topic you can think of. Kurt Vonnegut? Yes. Famous hoaxes? Certainly. The Google Scholar articles option allows you to include/exclude patents and citations, define a time range, and sort by date or relevance.

Try These Fun Activities

Go to the main Google page and search for:

breathing exercise
metronome
roll a die
flip a coin
play tic tac toe
play solitaire

No hints, but I think you’ll be impressed with what you find.

And for the Catnip Crowd?

Yes, you can even find catnip, dear cats. Try any — or all — of the following searches:

catnip of the month club
catnip delivery
catnip seeds
catnip recipes
how to grow catnip